Captive Light
by Shortey83
Summary: It had been over two hundred years since the death of Inu no Taisho, and yet he had never made it to the netherworld. It seems that the God's had one final task for the great demon, but is it within his power? After all, he has already failed once before.


**Captive Light**

**Author Shortey 83**

**Chapter 1**

**Summary: It had been over two hundred years since the death of Inu no Taisho, and yet he had never made it to the netherworld. It seems that the God's had one final task for the great demon, but is it within his power? After all, he has already failed once before.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own InuYasha or any of its characters.**

**Author's note: I feel that I should warn all of my readers, this requested story was a bit out of the norm for me, after all I typically write for Sesshomaru, but please be patient with me. With this story especially, I hope to receive feedback on both its positives and negatives. Also, due to the lack of an official name for Inu no Taisho, I will simply be calling him InuTaisho in this story! I hope you all enjoy it! ^.^ …:::~~*$hortey*~~:::…**

**Story Start:**

It felt as if it had been an eternity since he had been floating in the darkness. He knew that time and space both flowed around him and yet every minute felt as if it were a lifetime.

Between these lifetimes, InuTaisho allowed his mind to wander back to the life he had once lived and wondered if this was his punishment for daring to love a mortal. Was fate so cruel as to deny him peace in death as well as life? Had he truly committed crimes too heinous to be forgiven?

_Have you forgotten?_ A soft voice whispered in the dark the first he had heard since he began to drift between the worlds besides his own thoughts. _Have you forgotten the promise you made to me?_ The voice, so distant, was so familiar and haunting but he couldn't quite place it. _The promise that gave you power over death itself?_

Now he remembered. "You are the Goddess I met in the forest." InuTaisho spoke for the first time in his eternity. _So you have remembered. Most do not keep promises made so long ago._ The voice sounded pleased. "I always keep my word. I have my honor." As if he could forget the promise he had made to a fading goddess.

It had been so long ago that he could not count the years, or at least he felt that way. In seeking to strengthen the sword that he had forged from his fang, he had stumbled across the Goddess deep in a forgotten part of a forgotten forest. The air around the clearing was charged with a power he had never felt before and as he stepped through the tree line and into the open, he spotted a woman leaning heavily against an old oak tree. She was neither human nor demon, but she was more beautiful than any creature he had witnessed. Her skin was so pale that not even the purest cloud could compare to it and her hair so dark that the night sky seemed to reside within her long tresses. The color of her eyes were indescribable, they seemed hold every color and yet no color all at once. So stunning was her beauty that it brought him to his knees.

"I did not think any would reach me here." She spoke, her voice the purest music to his ears. "Yet you have. You are powerful for a creature of darkness." It took him a moment to form words to respond to her. "Who are you?" he asked, unable to hold back a hint of awe in his voice. She smiled and he was force to look away from the beauty of her smile. "I think you know, demon." He knew exactly what she was. The woman was a goddess. "I haven't much time left." She spoke again, and he turned his gaze back towards her. "I cannot remain in this world much longer, but I would make a deal with you." InuTaisho nodded, giving her indication to continue.

"Long have I sought to merge the worlds of light and shadow, for one cannot exist without the other, but the time for that is not yet upon us. There is still much that remains to be done. Slay me now and I shall bestow upon you my power to revive the dead, but when I have need of you I shall call upon you from either this world or the next to fulfill this promise to me." For a moment he was stunned at her request. He wanted him to slay her and in return he would be allowed to revive the dead? He had no use of such power as of yet, but still it could prove to be useful. "Why would you choose me, a demon, Goddess?" he asked, wondering what the future would hold for him should he chose to accept her offer.

Her eyes rested on him like a caress. "Only one capable of both great power and a caring heart is able to enter here. Both are within your grasp. Now make your choice, for I will soon fade from this world." Each word now seemed as if it were a chore for her to whisper. Quickly he nodded and approached closer as he drew his sword. "Forgive me." He implored her a moment before driving his blade into her heart. There was no pain in her eyes as she smiled at him again, only relief. "Take my power, and I shall call on you when I have need of you." At her words, he could feel her power surging into his blade.

Then she was gone.

He searched for any sign that she had been there but other than the power he could feel coursing through the blade of his sword there was none. Now he wondered what task there was that a Goddess needed him to perform.

_I am glad that you have remembered. Now it is time for you to return to the land of the living where you will be needed._ She spoke. "What of Izayoi?" he asked, wondering what had become of the human he had loved. _She lived a good life with your son and now her soul rests peacefully._ It was the best he could hope for. "I failed her. Are you so sure I won't fail you?" he asked. He had to know the Goddess' answer. _You simply promised her what was not in your power to give. That is not failure. She passed from life knowing that had it been within your power, it would have been so. To promise to spend a lifetime with another being is one thing, but attempting to keep that promise is love._

InuTaisho accepted her answer because that was all he could do and knowing that Izayoi rested peacefully set his mind at ease.

"What is it you require of me?" he asked, as he began to feel his power seeping back into his body as the goddess worked to restore him. _The key to merging light and shadow has been taken by a human._ The goddess explained. _His intention is to gain immortality, but he will only succeed in tearing a rift between the worlds which would result in the destruction of all; humans, demons, and gods alike. You must take back the key from him. "_Where can I find him?" InuTaisho's power had returned and yet he was unable to open his eyes.

_First travel to the village where your youngest son resides and wait. In time a human woman will reach the village asking your son to do what I am asking of you. Follow her instructions and she shall direct you to where the human is keeping the key._

With those instructions, InuTaisho felt his body being cast back into the world of the living.

He could feel that he was lying on his back and the sunlight on his face. How long had it been since he had felt its warmth? Finally he was able to open his eyes and stare up at the sun blazing brightly in the sky. Sitting up he looked around and found himself in a large empty field of nothing but hills of green grass stretching out before a mountain. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with living air as the wind brushed his face and brought with him the scents of the land around him.

He stood and stretched, flexing his powerful muscles to remove the stiffness from them as he attempted to determine his location. _One last thing…_ The goddess' voice interrupted his thoughts. _Take these with you. I feel you may have need of them._ With that a pair of swords appeared at his side. _Their powers mimic those of your previous weapons and should prove useful in your quest. _InuTaisho drew each sword and felt the power within them, testing their abilities with a few swings. Now all there was to do was to search out his son.

Flexing his demonic power, he flew off to the east. If he was lucky, he would be able to scent his son, if not then he would be reduced to checking village after village to find him. He really didn't want to do that for the simple fact that it may stir up the villagers into a panic. It seemed that the land hadn't changed that much in the time that the Goddess had held him in limbo between the worlds and many of the landmarks that he had been familiar with began to surface.

One sight in particular had him heading in that direction- The smoking volcano that Totosai called home. Even with its volcanic activity the landscape hadn't changed too much. If he had to guess, both Totosai and Myoga would be there to tell him of the events that had passed since his death. Upon landing, he noticed Totosai's mount Mo-Mo eating the bucket of grass that stood before him. The ox looked up at him briefly and then continued to graze. It seemed that at least the old bull hadn't forgotten him.

InuTaisho wasn't the least bit surprised to find the blacksmith lying on his table sleeping soundly. "It seems that not much has changed in my absence." He spoke and Totosai's eyes opened groggily at being woken up. The sword smith looked at him a moment before rubbing his eyes, making sure that the demon before him really was there. Once he realized that he was, Totosai fell before him in a bow. "Master, Is it truly you?!" Totosai's voice covered in awe. "It is, my old friend." InuTaisho told him and Totosai rose from his bow as a small speck kept from the blacksmith's clothes and landed on his neck. He felt a small pinch as he was bitten by that speck. "It is you, Master!" Myoga announced, jumping back before he could be swatted. "I have been gone a long time it seems." He spoke to the two of them before he seated himself on the floor, his companions doing the same. "I need the two of you to tell me of events since my passing." With that the long story began.

It had been more than two hundred years since he fell in battle and it seemed that the world of man had changed much more than the world of demons as he expected it would. Demon laws were hard to change and any changes made typically took a very long time to change. In regards to demons, it seemed that his eldest son, Sesshomaru had indeed taken his place within demon society as he had always hoped he would, while his youngest son, InuYasha had settled in a small village with a human priestess.

The old flea demon then took the time to tell him of the more recent events that had taken place within the past fifty years including how InuYasha had been sealed to a tree and the battle that they had with the half demon, Naraku as they searched to gather the pieces of the shattered Shikon Jewel. InuTaisho was proud to hear that his son's had worked together to defeat this foe, although Myoga insisted that the two of them would deny that to their graves. They both seemed to be as stubborn as he was and Sesshomaru seemed just as proud as his mother. He had yet to determine InuYasha's behavior but according to both Totosai and Myoga he had a volatile temper. Though the two demons sitting across from him would have never guessed it, he was eager to go and meet his youngest for himself.

Totosai then took the time to inform him on all his sons had accomplished with his swords. He was shocked and pleased that Sesshomaru had learned to wield the Tenseiga at all. Of course he had hoped that he would be able to master it as he had intended, but it was an even bigger surprise to learn that a small human girl had been the one to teach him what he needed to learn. InuYasha seemed to do more with his sword that InuTaisho had ever imagined. The techniques he now possessed where incredible to even him and he only barely managed to avoid showing his pride of his youngest son for his accomplishments, even as a half demon.

"What of you, Master?" Myoga questioned from where he sat on Totosai's shoulder. "Where have you been and how have you returned?"

InuTaisho briefly hinted on what had transpired between himself and the goddess and all that had happened since his death, but for the most part, he kept things simple. "Plainly speaking, there is a task she requires of me. However, I have yet to determine my exact purpose." After a few more hours of conversation, he informed them of his departure and left to the village where InuYasha resided guided by Myoga.


End file.
